The term ‘thought leader’ tends to be associated with negative perceptions. Perhaps it isn’t as bad as we have made it out to be. What exactly is it, and does our profession benefit from thought leadership? Might you be a thought leader?

Fail often to succeed, we are told. Good advice perhaps if we are exploring new services or products. When leaders fail often, or perhaps even just once, recovery is difficult if not impossible. Leaders can learn from their failures and move on.

Productive change depends on staff members who are working creatively to develop new ideas for better library services. Leaders can play an important role in helping staff to achieve higher levels of workplace creativity.

With the huge volume of leadership advice that’s generated weekly what’s a leader supposed to do? It’s not only the lack of time for taking it all in, but to what extent should it influence your leadership style.

Good leaders need to be focused and consistent. It pushes them to achieve their goals in a way that followers can anticipate and count on. Having a personal mission statement can help leaders stay true to this fundamental approach.

“Don’t expect to change anything unless you can do it within the constraints of the organization culture” is a piece of advice often given to leaders. Perhaps leaders are better off ignoring it and establishing a new culture.